Howard University recently announced a $5 million gift from alumni Eddie C. Brown (B.S.E.E. ’61) and C. Sylvia Brown(B.S. ’62), donated to support the Graduation Retention Access to Continued Excellence (GRACE) Grant for students facing financial barriers. It is the largest donation from alumni in the HBCU’s 154-year history.
Eddie Brown is the founder, chairman and CEO of Brown Capital Management, a Baltimore-based asset management firm that is the second oldest African-American-owned investment management firm in the world.
“We are extremely grateful to Eddie and Sylvia for making this historic gift to Howard University,” said Howard University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick. “The GRACE Grant has helped to eliminate financial barriers to education for Howard students, and I am thrilled that the Browns were inspired to commit such a generous gift to this important fund. My hope is that students will be inspired by their story and generosity and that others in our alumni community will consider the many ways they, too, can impact current and future generations of Howard students.”
The Browns met on Howard’s campus in 1957. Eddie came to Howard from Allentown, Pennsylvania at just 16 years old as a student in the College of Engineering, and Sylvia came to Howard from King William, Virginia as a student in what was then the College of Liberal Arts.
While equally committed to education, the couple recall two very different stories as it pertains to their opportunities to pursue a college education. Whereas Sylvia came from a family of educators and always knew she had the support to pursue higher education, Eddie’s journey to Howard was made possible because of a caring teacher and anonymous “angel” donor.